June 04 2015. Review
of SLS3 Compression Socks. First the disclaimer—SLS3 offered to send me a
complimentary pair of their compression socks for me to try if I would write a
review but with no conditions on the nature of the review and certainly not on
whether it would be positive or negative. They have offered a 40% discount and
a raffle for a free giveaway of the socks. For those contacts, please scroll to
the bottom of the review.
I had been curious about compression socks for three reasons.
Like most other Marathon fans, I am well aware that Meb Keflezighi wears them
in all his races. That is enough to get any distance runner’s attention.
Second, when I was watching usatf.tv coverage of the Gate River (15K) Run a
couple of months ago, I was struck by the commentators noting that a number of
runners were sporting compression socks. Third, one of my Masters running
compatriots had started wearing them recently, although in his case it was
strictly due to a doctor’s prescription to prevent the development of blood clots in the
lower leg and foot, a problem that had caused him some pain in the recent past.
So this offer came at a good time for me.
First I will review what I learned on the web about
compression socks before agreeing to give them a try and then a bit about my experience.
For those who already know all they want to know about the scientific
evaluation of compression socks, please jump down to ‘My Experience.’
What I Learned. Compression socks are long stockings (knee-high typically)
that are designed to have tighter pressure at the ankle and lighter pressure as
they rise up toward the knee. This graduated pressure characteristic is crucial. They are widely used by people who need to be on
their feet a lot with their work and/or who have poor circulation in their
lower limbs. They are specifically also used to prevent swelling and to prevent
the development of blood clots. More recently they have become popular with
distance runners, either as socks or as sleeves.
What about their worth to distance runners? That is
debatable. Here are just a few of the articles that have appeared presenting or
summarizing research on the benefits, if any, from distance runners wearing
compression socks.:
MY EXPERIENCE.
Immediate background/context. I am a 69 year old elite Masters runner. In the first 7
months of 2014, before succumbing to a hamstring injury, I ran a sub 40 minute
10K, a 1:29:29 Half Marathon, and a 1:46:27 25 K. The hamstring injury was a
major trauma which I, unfortunately, aggravated in the final 150 yards of a 5K
national championship cross country race in November. After that it was two
steps forward and one step backward most of the time with an occasional two or
three steps backward. I restrained the hamstring two weeks before running the
Boston Marathon in a very slow time (an hour slower than my qualifying time). Luckily
I did not aggravate the injury during the Marathon itself so a week later
started running again and vowing to be fully compliant with Physical Therapy
–type exercises at the Gym. That is the immediate context for my tryout of the
Compression Socks—in rehab mode.
My first try was to wear them
overnight after a workout; this was one of the ways some advocates suggested.
It turned out to be very difficult for me to get the socks on, although I did
eventually succeed, and then I had a hard time getting comfortable with them
on. In fact, after tossing and turning for an hour or two in bed, I eventually
woke up and removed them. So even though some recommend wearing them for 24
hours after a training run, that did not work well for me.
On Getting into Compression Socks. When I first tried getting them on I hadn’t done my
research so it was really hard. Here are the tips I found later online to make
it easier to get compression socks on. Try putting baby powder (foot powder) on
the foot first so they slide more easily and there is also a method involving
folding the socks in half by placing your hand in through the sock, grabbing
the heel and pulling that up through so it just sticks out. Then stick your
foot in the bottom half and then grab the ends and sliding up over your
heel…and then finally up over your calves. Doing both the powder and the
special fold job is probably better. I struggled mightily before encountering those
tips; it was much easier after, but still not
easy. I certainly cannot get them on (or off) as quickly as the guy in the
video but maybe you’ll have better luck.
For a video exposition of the method
explained above, please see:
My second try was to wear
them during a run. Here’s a pic before I set out on the run.
How’s that for color coordination with my spiffy new Boston Marathon shirt? :)
It was hard to observe any effects
during this or one other workout I tried them in. The workout on this day, May
2nd, was hard but not super hard—4.5 miles with an easy first mile plus and
then two quarter miles at 10K pace, interspersed by a quarter mile jog, with
the 2nd quarter followed by a half mile jog and then run the last
mile at 10K pace.. The only effect I may have noticed is that I seemed to warm
up a bit quicker. I am pretty consistent now about starting off at a slow jog
and gradually increasing pace if I feel like it, and then after the first
three-quarters of a mile or so, stop and do stretching of various kinds. I felt
that I ran that first bit faster with the socks on. I also ran the two quarter
miles faster than anticipated, but that was more than offset by having to run
the last mile at slower pace than anticipated and feeling the hurt a bit more
than I had hoped. I am afraid I have to put myself in the group that finds
little positive training effect of the socks during the run.
My final attempt with the socks was
to put them on after the run and wear them for 2-3 hours. Over the next three
weeks I had a number of hard workouts as my fitness was starting to return. By
the end of the 2nd week of May I was running workouts like 6.5 miles in all,
including 2 quarter miles followed by two half miles followed by two quarter
miles, all with 2-3 minute active recovery between and for the first time in
months the quarters were sub-90 seconds and the half miles were sub 3:15 and
one sub 3:10—real progress. After the hard workout detailed above, I switched
into the compression socks and wore them for a few hours. Over the next two
weeks I had several hard workouts and I alternated wearing the socks afterwards
and not wearing them. When I wore them, they did feel nice and snug, and I felt
good about wearing them. At first I thought they might have been reducing
soreness and improving the next day’s workout but after three trials both ways
I could not really detect much difference in recovery.
My wife says to report that I do
have good circulation in my legs though and that may mean they don’t benefit me
very much where they might benefit others. It is also true that I am quite
light, as befits a long distance runner—only 130 lbs. these days, on a 5’8”-5’9” frame. Maybe they are more useful
for the typical recreational runner? So my lack of effect should not be taken
as definitive for others.
One of the supposed benefits is in
wearing the socks on long drives and in waiting around the day before a race. I
will definitely give that a try next time I drive 3 hours or more to a race
and/or have to wait around a motel room for a day or two before the race. When
I do, I will update this review.
My bottom line right now is
·
Small negative (as far as comfort
goes) if wearing them overnight
·
No observable positive effect when
wearing them during a training run (unless a quick warm-up is important to
you).
·
Small or no observable positive
effect when wearing them after hard training runs. [I cannot rule out a small
positive effect however as this has been a period during which my overall
fitness was recovering at a good pace.]
I have no particular reason to
recommend them at present but no reason to recommend against them either. There
seems to be ample evidence that some runners find them to be beneficial.
SLS3. What about
SLS3 in particular? I can say they were very pleasant and easy to deal with via
e-mail. It was very easy to get the right size from them with just a couple of
useful and easy to take measurements.
Offers. If you
feel you want to try them yourself, SLS3 has offered a free give away. Please
visit and enter the raffle at
They have also offered a 40%
personalized discount to readers of this blog. Just visit their website at:
and provide them with the RP40 code.
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